Settlement of Differences
Brazil and the United States (2016)
On 2 December 2016, Brazil (the Applicant) presented to ICAO an Application and Memorial pursuant to Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), seeking a decision of the Council on a disagreement with the United States (the Respondent) relating “to the interpretation and application of the Convention and its Annexes following a collision, on September 29th 2006, of the air carrier Boeing 737-8EH operating a regular flight GLO 1907, and air jet Legacy EMB-135BJ operating a flight by ExcelAire Services Inc.”
On 27 March 2017, the Respondent submitted a Statement of preliminary objection to the Application. On 19 May 2017, the Applicant submitted Comments on the Statement of preliminary objection. After hearing the Parties, the Council, at the ninth Meeting of its 211th Session, decided with 4 votes in favour, 19 against and 11 abstentions, not to accept the Respondent’s preliminary objection. The Council further decided to invite the Parties to continue their direct negotiations and also requested the President of the Council to be available to provide his good offices as Conciliator during such negotiations. The Respondent subsequently filed its Counter-memorial on 31 August 2017.
At the eighth Meeting of its 212th Session, the Council considered a progress report on negotiations. The Council endorsed an agreement reached between the two parties to suspend the filing of a Reply by the Applicant to the Respondent’s Counter-memorial in order to allow for further consultations among them.
Request submitted under Article 54 n) of the Chicago Convention
At the tenth Meeting of its 211th Session, the Council considered and approved a request, submitted by Qatar pursuant to Article 54 n) of the Chicago Convention, to schedule an extraordinary session for the consideration of the actions of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to close their airspace to aircraft registered in Qatar. On 31 July 2017, following its consideration of the item, the Council rendered a decision urging all ICAO Member States to continue to collaborate, in particular, to promote the safety, security, efficiency and sustainability of international civil aviation.
Qatar and Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (2017) – Application (A)
On 30 October 2017, Qatar presented Application (A) and its corresponding Memorial under the terms of Article 84 of the Chicago Convention. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were named as Respondents. The said Application (A) and its corresponding Memorial relate to a disagreement on the “interpretation and application of the Chicago Convention and its Annexes” following the referenced announcement by the Governments of the Respondents on 5 June 2017 “with immediate effect and without any previous negotiation or warning, that Qatar-registered aircraft are not permitted to fly to or from the airports within their territories and would be barred not only from their respective national air spaces, but also from their Flight Information Regions (FIRs) extending beyond their national airspace even over the high seas”. On 15 November 2017, the Council fixed a time-limit of 12 weeks for the filing of Counter-memorials by the Respondents with respect to Application (A).
Qatar and Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (2017) – Application (B)
On 30 October 2017, Qatar also presented Application (B) and its corresponding Memorial under the terms of Article II, Section 2 of the International Air Services Transit Agreement (Transit Agreement) and Chapter XVIII of the Chicago Convention. Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates were named as Respondents. Application (B) relates to a disagreement on the “interpretation and application” of the Transit Agreement, following the referenced announcement by the Governments of the Respondents on 5 June 2017 “with immediate effect and without any previous negotiation or warning, that Qatar-registered aircraft are not permitted to fly to or from the airports within their territories and are barred from their respective national air spaces”. On 15 November 2017, the Council fixed a time-limit of 12 weeks for the filing of Counter-memorials by the Respondents with respect to Application (B).
